The Complications of Courtship
by Laura Scofield
Summary: Pre-BMT. A confused Kassie wants to know where she stands in her courtship with Tayend of Tremmelin. Character Past Challenge.


**The Complications of Courtship**

_This was written for the "BMT Character Past" challenge, which I posted on the BMT forum literally months ago at this stage. _

_I wanted to write about Tayend as a teenager, and this fic is mostly from his "girlfriend's" POV - I think Kassie is my first proper BMT OC, so don't expect characterisation miracles! I don't think I mention ages, but Tayend and Kassie are about fifteen in this._

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"Tayend of Tremmelin, are you _always_ this late?"

Tayend laughed, as he politely took the girl's arm. "Aren't I worth waiting for?"

Kassie scowled, and allowed him to lead her across the crowded room. Her eyes glided admiringly over the sumptuous outfits of the other guests, looking out for anyone she knew. Spotting a group of her friends by the far wall, she waved to them, but they broke into a fit of giggles and whispers when they saw Tayend beside her.

Kassie took a long look at Tayend, and had to admit he looked exceptionally fetching tonight in his tight-fitted, elaborately designed clothes. He was the sort of person who always got second glances wherever he went; his striking appearance bordered on being feminine, but that didn't stop him being very popular with the young ladies of Capia. Indeed, Kassie had sometimes caught men giving Tayend desirous looks too. It had fuelled her doubt over their courtship when she noticed how he occasionally grinned teasingly back at these men.

Taking a breath, she chided him lightly, "I hope you weren't late because you were spending hours getting ready again. Honestly, I don't know of any _girls_ who take as long as you do to get ready for a party."

The young man was impassive. "If it annoys you so much, I won't make any effort at all next time!"

His companion couldn't suppress a laugh. "Yes, that's a great idea. Just turn up wearing a sack and I'll stick some feathers on it."

"Who knows? We may start a fashion trend! It can't be any worse than some of the other ridiculous things we're expected to wear."

Kassie rolled her eyes as she took two glasses of red wine from a passing servant, who looked faintly ridiculous in his yellow outfit. Handing one to Tayend, she replied indignantly, "Try having to wear a corset!"

Tayend almost choked on his mouthful of wine. "Why do you keep saying things like that to me?"

"Because you _men_ have it so easy! If you suddenly turned into a girl, you wouldn't last a single day."

Tayend nodded fervently; evidently weary of this topic of conversation. "Yes, we've already agreed on this plenty of times before. There's no need to frighten me with your scary tales of the hardships of being a woman. Men just aren't capable of imagining such horrors, so it's best to leave us to our ignorance."

The girl sighed exasperatedly at her suitor's unconcerned tone. "One day when you're married, you'll be _forced_ to understand all that women suffer."

"Well then, I won't get married."

Kassie scoffed at his impetuous declaration. "That's what _all_ men say when they're young."

"Well maybe I actually mean it!" Tayend retorted hotly.

"Keep your hair on, I'm only joking," Kassie patted his arm reassuringly, taken aback by his sudden irritation. She tried to make light of the situation by exclaiming, "I'm not sure I should be courting a man whose moods change faster than my own!"

Tayend's indignation evaporated as he chuckled. "Yes, but that's why I'm so amazing."

Kassie shook her head in mock distress. "Of all the women you could have blighted with your conceited ways, why did you choose me?"

The young man paused, and frowned slightly. "Well, it _was_ your idea that we should start courting; to stop my father from pestering me about it." Then, worried he was being cruel by bluntly reminding her of this, he added brightly, "Luckily you're the most intelligent and engaging lady I know, so you don't bore me senseless like most other girls do."

"Tayend, with flattery skills like that, you should have all the women of Capia swooning over you," Kassie remarked wryly.

"Wouldn't that get rather troublesome? All those ladies fainting every time I entered a room."

Kassie laughed. "I suppose it would." With her arm linked in his, she steered Tayend out of the crowded room, and into the peacefulness of the garden. Well, _relative_ peacefulness. Quite a few couples were outside sitting on benches, or strolling around the winding pathways. Kassie purposely led her companion away from the other guests, and into a secluded corner of the garden. There, she pulled him down to sit on a bench beside her.

Tayend looked somewhat uncomfortable, and began absently fidgeting with his cuffs. He always got nervous when they were alone together, as if he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do, or how to act. Kassie had been good friends with him for many years, and got on fairly well with his sister Mayrie as well. But recently Tayend had confided to her the pressure his father was putting him under to finally start courting.

The vast majority of Tayend's peers had already begun courting, and within the Capia court environment, the practice was considered an integral part in strengthening ties between the courtiers' respective families. Of course, it also served as a way for parents to maintain a closer watch on their teenagers. Only foolish parents could believe that their children would remain unaffected by the rampant licentious behaviour of the Elyne court. This resulted in many parents being supportive of the prospect of their children conducting sexual relationships – so long as it was in the confines of a respectful and responsible relationship. When a young person first stepped into the world of courting the opposite sex, it was seen as a pivotal part of becoming an adult.

Despite being popular and handsome, Tayend showed little interest in initiating courtship with anyone, despite the numerous propositions he received from enthusiastic girls. This typically produced teasing from Tayend's peers that he was a lad, and Dem Tremmelin was finding the subtle curious enquiries from his own associates rather alarming. He couldn't understand why his son obstinately refused to start formally pursuing girls, even when faced with the increasing gossip that was circulating about him.

Kassie had known Tayend was frustrated from constantly arguing over the matter with his father. Trying to help out her friend, she had suggested to Tayend that they pretend they were courting together. Kassie really admired Tayend, but it didn't take long for her to begin regretting her rash proposition. She had a nagging feeling that Tayend was indeed a lad. Kassie couldn't be certain of it, and she felt guilty for speculating about her friend like this. But it explained why he didn't show the same interest in girls that most other boys his age did.

Was she being too harsh on Tayend? Perhaps he was just shy. Although he was friendly and confident with her in public, whenever they had any sort of privacy he seemed to grow uncomfortable. It had been that way ever since the evening Kassie had kissed him, and he had embarrassedly pulled away. It was as though he was afraid she would try to do the same again. She cursed herself for thinking he might have feelings for her; after all, he had only agreed to court her out of desperation.

But Kassie wondered if his problem was just that he didn't have much experience with girls. He had plenty of female friends, but as far as Kassie knew, he had never been in a relationship with any of them. So it made sense for him to be wary with her, because this was all new to him. He seemed to spend most of his free time in the Great Library; learning languages and studying ancient volumes. So maybe he was more at ease in the company of books than with young ladies.

Kassie really liked Tayend, but courting him for the sake of propriety was not something she wanted to keep up, if he didn't intend for them to be more then friends. She needed to know once and for all if he returned her feelings.

Taking a deep breath she asked carefully, "Tayend, would you prefer if we stopped courting?"

The young man frowned at her forthright question, and paused before answering quietly, "I don't know."

Kassie couldn't hide her exasperation. "Tayend, why are we courting at all? You don't seem interested in me… If you only want us to be friends, that's fine. Please just tell me the truth."

Tayend looked so distressed; it almost made Kassie regret bringing up the topic at all. But they needed to be honest with each other. It wasn't fair for her to be getting her hopes up if Tayend had no intention of having a relationship with her.

"I – I do really like you…" Tayend managed to stammer.

"But just as a friend?" Kassie probed.

The boy paused before he nodded. Kassie felt herself sinking with disappointment, but it just confirmed what she already had known. Pushing her feelings for him aside, she asked gently, "Are there other girls you'd prefer to court? Are you just scared to approach them?"

Tayend looked even more agitated than before. "Not exactly…" he began, and then shook his head and gave a weary sigh. "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression."

Kassie wasn't sure how to reply. "Well, it's partly my fault, I suppose. I should never have suggested that you pretend to court me in the first place! But if you're _truly_ not interested in courting anyone, you should face up to your father and tell him the truth. Nobody can force you to do anything you don't want to, not even him."

"You sound like my sister." Tayend gave a rueful smile. "But I agree with you. I just wanted to do something right for a change. He hardly ever seems happy with me… or at least he doesn't show it."

The young woman felt hesitant in discussing Dem Tremmelin. He was a sociable and discerning sort of man, but was also known to be very critical, and to speak his mind rather bluntly. Kassie could only assume that his sharp words were sometimes aimed towards his two children, and perhaps he didn't always realise how much his words stung.

"Why don't we go back inside? We can't leave the party without trying some of that Vindo wine," Kassie suggested in an effort to raise her friend's spirits.

Tayend grinned, eager to change the subject. "Good idea. Velend claims he once got drunk on only _two_ glasses of it, so I want to find out for myself." He scowled. "That idiot thinks he knows everything!"

Kassie chuckled as she took his arm, and together they headed back into the party.

* * *

_As always I really appreciate any feedback, and please feel free to criticise or suggest things I could have improved on. Getting Tayend and Kassie's characterisations right caused me a lot of trouble, as well as illustrating the importance of the courting system in Elyne. My original draft was severely edited to sort out these areas, so hopefully the final piece is an enjoyable read, and somewhat different from my usual fics (although I couldn't resist the lure of banter!) :D_


End file.
